World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Migration Studies
H-index 10

Migration Studies

2049-5838

Published by: Oxford University Press

https://academic.oup.com/migration

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Political Science 139 14 18 8

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 33
Documents by Best Scientists*: 28
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 0
SCIMAGO H-index: 23
SCIMAGO SJR: 1.004
Impact Factor: 2.7

Overview

Top Research Topics at Migration Studies?

Immigration, Demographic economics, Gender studies, Political economy and Refugee are among the topics commonly tackled in the journal. Issues in Immigration were discussed, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Economic growth, Criminology, Ethnic group and Development economics. Research on Criminology addressed in the journal frequently intersections with the field of Deportation.

The studies tackled, which mainly focus on Political economy, apply to Politics as well.

  • Immigration (22.00%)
  • Demographic economics (11.14%)
  • Gender studies (10.57%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • The effect of income and immigration policies on international migration (228 citations)
  • Beyond the insider-outsider divide in migration research (121 citations)
  • What happens post-deportation? The experience of deported Afghans (96 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Migration Studies:

The journal articles mainly deal with areas of study such as Immigration, Political economy, Economic growth, Politics and Social science. The journal papers tackle studies in Demographic economics and the interrelated subject of Ethnic group to gain insights into Immigration. The published articles focus on Political economy but sometimes tackle the closely related topic of Law which is concerned with Debt and Phenomenon.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Law
  • Social science
  • China

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Migration Studies mostly deals with topics like Gender studies, Refugee, Criminology, Immigration and Economic geography. Syrian refugees, Identity (social science) and Hospitality are some topics wherein Gender studies research discussed in Migration Studies have an impact. The journal explores topics in Refugee which can be helpful for research in disciplines like Economic growth, Kinship, Economy and Queer.

The journal focuses on Criminology but the discussions also offer insight into other areas such as Reflexivity, Deportation, Immigration detention and Vulnerability. The studies in Deportation featured incorporate elements of Legitimacy, Resistance (psychoanalysis), Citizenship and Shadow (psychology). The studies on Immigration discussed can also contribute to research in the domains of Subject (philosophy), Meaning (linguistics), State (polity), Power (social and political) and Politics.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Deskilling unpacked: Comparing Filipino and Polish migrant nurses’ professional experiences in Norway (7 citations)
  • Fixed places, shifting distances: remittance houses and migrants’ negotiation of home in Ecuador (6 citations)
  • Dynamics of mobility-stasis in refugee journeys: Case of resettlement from Turkey to Canada (5 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in Migration Studies (based on the number of publications) are:

  • Alan John Gamlen (8 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Martina Tazzioli (3 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • David McKenzie (3 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Evelyn Arizpe (3 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition,
  • Nando Sigona (3 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Migration Studies (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of Oxford (19 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous edition,
  • Victoria University of Wellington (6 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • University of Glasgow (5 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition,
  • World Bank (5 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • University of Amsterdam (5 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 6.52% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 18.60% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 6.98% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 18.60% of all publications and 55.81% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career Opportunities in Research and Migration Studies

For those enthusiastic about exploring the complex dynamics of immigration, demographic economics, gender studies, political economy, and other research topics mentioned in this article, a career in research or migration studies can be fulfilling. Serving in capacities such as a research analyst, policy advisor, immigration consultant, or even acquiring specialized roles like a school librarian focused on these topics, can prove impactful. In certain roles, especially those in educational institutions, you may be required to have a specific educational background or certification. For instance, becoming a school librarian in Florida would necessitate certain prerequisites. A good place to start would be to understand the professional and academic requirements for such positions. Our career guide page elaborates more on how to navigate such career paths. You can learn more by checking out "how to become a school librarian in Florida." Regardless of the career pathway chosen within the research or migration studies field, it’s undeniable that the findings gleaned from such work are critical in shaping policies, societal views, and overall understanding of complex migration patterns and issues. The field of research and migration studies is indeed a rewarding one and the impact of its work is far-reaching and profound.

Top Publications

  • Mapping migration studies: An empirical analysis of the coming of age of a research field

    Asya Pisarevskaya;Nathan Levy;Peter Scholten;Joost Jansen

    (2020)
    141 Citations
  • The ethics of migration policy dilemmas

    Unknown

    (2022)
    61 Citations
  • From the state of the art to new directions in researching what Brexit means for migration and migrants

    (2022)
    27 Citations
  • The politics of migrant dispersal. Dividing and policing migrant multiplicities

    Martina Tazzioli

    (2020)
    23 Citations
  • Immigrant legalization: A dilemma between justice and the rule of law

    (2022)
    17 Citations
  • The elusive triple win: addressing temporary labour migration dilemmas through fair representation

    (2022)
    16 Citations
  • Does social cohesion solve forced migration riddles? Troubled concepts and constrained practices in Turkey

    Saime Özçürümez;Julinda Hoxha;Ahmet İçduygu

    (2020)
    10 Citations
  • Migration and ‘pull factor’ traps

    Glenda Garelli;Martina Tazzioli

    (2020)
    10 Citations
  • Power and proliferation: Explaining the fragmentation of global migration governance

    Lena Kainz;Alexander Betts

    (2021)
    8 Citations
  • The centre cannot hold: Arrival, margins, and the politics of ambivalence introduction to ‘arrival at the margins’, a special issue of migration studies

    (2022)
    6 Citations

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